Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Acquired by Synergy Asset Management LLC

Synergy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 50.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,097 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,393 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,253,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,096,470,000 after buying an additional 742,076 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,041,685 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,974,478,000 after acquiring an additional 676,452 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,608,023 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,803,956,000 after acquiring an additional 605,909 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,595,559,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 5.9% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,510,259 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,181,964,000 after purchasing an additional 306,663 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 151,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.55, for a total transaction of $68,335,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 95,930,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,413,260,885.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.00, for a total transaction of $136,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,572,202. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 151,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.55, for a total transaction of $68,335,050.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 95,930,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,413,260,885.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,163,228 shares of company stock worth $1,428,540,870 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Mastercard from $520.00 to $510.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $496.91.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Mastercard stock traded up $3.53 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $441.14. The company had a trading volume of 841,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,453,390. The company has a market cap of $410.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $451.50 and its 200-day moving average is $453.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $359.77 and a fifty-two week high of $490.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 183.70% and a net margin of 46.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.26 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.99%.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, digital partners, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts; prepaid programs services; and commercial credit, debit, and prepaid payment products and solutions.